Buckle-shield.



No. 896,936. `PATENTED AUG. 25, 190s.

` F. o. PABGBL.

BUCKLE SHIELD.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16, 1908.

Witnesses ,Bz ventor:

' I ,By )als Aorneys: a g5 @Ja/M 1HE imams PETERS ca., wAsmNcoN, 'l24 c.

FREDRIOK C. PAEGEL, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

BUCKLE-SHIE LD Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 25, 1908.

Application filed January 16, 1908. Serial No. 411,051.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, FREDRICK C. PAEGEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of I-Iennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buckle- Shields; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide a simple, convenient and efficient buckle shield, and to this end it consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

I-Iitherto, buckle shields have been provided, and these have been quite generally used in connection with harnesses, but in all instances, so far as I am aware, the construction thereof has been such that it has been necessary to remove a strap from its buckle and otherwise manipulate the same in order to either apply the shield to the strap or to remove the same therefrom. Also these buckle shields, as hitherto constructed, have made it a difficult matter to adjust the strap or change the buckle from one hole to the other thereof. These buckle shields, socalled, are used, first because they are or can be easily made ornamental, and second because when applied on harness buckles particularly, they cover up the buckle tongues in such manner that the hair of a horse's tail or mane cannot be caught and pulled by the buckle.

My improved buckle shield has this important advantage over shields heretofore designed, that it may be quickly and easily applied to a buckle or removed therefrom without removing the strap from the buckle and without requiring any particular manipulation either of the strap or of the buckle.

In its preferred form my improved buckle shield is provided with notched or serrated spring clamping prongs that are adapted to be forced under the bar and straddle of the tongue of a buckle, to detachably hold the shield in working position on or over the buckle.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in elevation showing one of my improved buckle shields applied to the buckle of a hip strap of an ordinary harness. Fig. 2 is an edge elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line x3 x3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the buckle shield removed from Working position 5 and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section taken on the line :c5 x5 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, a hip strap, which is of the usual construction, is indicated as an entirety by the numeral 1, and its buckle is indicated by the numerals 2 3, the said numeral 2 indicating the body and the numeral 3 the tongue of said buckle. The hip strap, as is customary, has a small leather pad 4 and strap guiding loops 5 6 secured to its buckle-equipped end, the body of the strap being doubled and brought back through the guide loops 5 6 and buckle 2 3 in the customary way.

My improved buckle shield may be either cast or pressed into the desired` form. The body thereof is in the form of a concavoconvex shell 7 which, as shown, is tapered toward one end, and at its contracted end has an in-turned or down-turned flange 8 that is adapted to bear against the surface of the strap. At its large end, the shell or shield proper 7 is provided with inwardly turned retaining lips or lugs 9 adapted to engage and hold the edges of the strap 1. These retaining lugs 9 are so spaced that the strap 1 (see Fig. 3) will normally be held in the partially opened channel formed by the said lugs and the body of the shell, but the said strap, when pushed edgewise to one side, then slightly bent transversely, may be readily removed from the shell.

A pair of notched or serrated spring clamping prongs 10 are rigidly secured at their rear ends to the rear or large end of the shield 7. These spring prongs extend centrally along the concave or under side of the shield 7 and terminate short of the fiange S thereof.

In applying the shield to the buckle, the spring prongs 10 are forced under the transverse upper portion of the buckle body 2 and straddle of the tongue 3, as best shown in Fig. 5 and, when thus applied, the said prongs 10 will lie flatwise against the strap 1, and the small end of the shield 7 will be inserted into the strap-guiding loop 5. The cooperating notches in the opposing edges of the spring prongs 10, by their engagement with the buckle tongue 3, securely hold the shield against accidental endwise displacement, and the pressure on said spring prongs between the strap l and the iransverse bar portion of the buckle body 2 also very greatly assists in holding the shield in Working position. Usually the small end of the shield will be inserted into the strapguiding loop, as shown in the drawings, but even when this is not d one the shield will be securely, although detachably, held in working position.

From whathas been said it will, of course, be understood, that my improved shield may be applied generally to buckles and is not limited. to any particular application, either on harnesses or elsewhere, although it will be lound especially serviceable ior use in connection with harness buckles. The great advantage thereof, as is evident, is found in the fact that it may be very quickly and easily applied in working position on a buckle or removed therefrom without pulling the strap out of its'buckle and without requiring any special manipulation either of the strap or of the buckle.

I believe it to be broadly new to provide a buckle shield with a spring clamp adapting it to be detachably secured to or removed from the body of the buckle without the removal of the strap from the buckle.

The shield will usually be made ornamental in design, so as to add beauty and ornamentation to the appearance of the harness, and it may, of course, be plated with any desired metal or made of any suitable metal.

What I claim is:

l. A buckle shield having a pair oi cooperating notched or serrated clamping buckle applied thereto, saidbuckle havinga pivoted tongue, of a buckle shield having a shell-like body and a pair oi notched spring clamping prongs, which prongs are adapted to straddle the tongue of the buckle and to be clamped between the strap and the transverse bar of the buckle, substantially as described.

4. A buckle shield comprising a shell-like body having offset laterally spaced strap engaging lugs and a pair oi" clamping prongs adapted to engage the tongue oi" the buckle, substantially .as described.

5. A buckle shield having a spring clamp adapted. to engage a part of the buckle and detaehably hold said shield to the buckle, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I my signature inl presence of two witnesses.

FREDRICK C. PAEG-EL.

Witnesses: H. D. KILGoR-E,

F. D. MERCHANT. 

